Govt lifts Bible impound

PETALING JAYA: The Government has decided to release the 35,000 copies of the Bible which we reimpounded at Port Klang and Kuching Port when they were imported from Indonesia.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the release was in line with the 1982 gazette under the Internal Security Act, which allows limited and controlled importation and circulation of Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia, which must be stamped “For Christians Only”.

“After a thorough review, the Attorney-General has confirmed that the release of the Bibles does not prejudice the ongoing court case of the Kalimah Allah issue,” he said in a statement yesterday.

On Sunday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had said that the impoundment of the Bibles at Port Klang and Kuching Port was because of the pending court appeal by The Herald, the Malaysian Catholic weekly, over the use of the word Allah in its publication. The issue has kicked up a storm among Christian groups in the country, which had appealed for the Bibles to be released.

Jala said the Government was committed to resolving inter-faith issues amicably through dialogues and discussions in view of the country’s multi-religious nature.

The minister, a Christian from Sarawak, has been liaising with the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) on behalf of the Government over the issue.

“This is a reasonable compromise in managing the polarities of views between Christians and Muslims in the country,” Jala added.

The 30,000 copies of the Bible were confiscated at the Kuching Port on Jan 12 while a previous shipment of 5,000 Bibles, known as the Alkit ab, were impounded in Port Klang in March 2009.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, in welcoming the A-G’s decision, reiterated that the Governm ent should be firm in showing its commitment to religious freedom. He said the issue which had created uneasiness among the people should not be allowed to drag on.

“Since Bahasa Malaysia is a medium of instruction, more people and more Christians will use Bahasa Malaysia to read the Bible,” he pointed out.

Malaysian Christians expressed relief that the controversy had come to a close.

Council of Churches of Malaysia general-secretary Rev Dr Herman Shastri said the Government had acted promptly on the matter.

“We still maintain that it is the right of Christians to read their scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia, as it is their inalienable right guaranteed by Article 11 of the Federal Constitution,” he added.

He, however, disagreed that the Bahasa Malaysia Bibles be circulated in the country with the “For Christians Only” stamp.

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